And at first, every organization leans that way, with maybe 80% of the people participating.  Then the number moves to 60%, then after 12 months 50%, and on down to near the 20% mark within 24 months of startup.  Great organizations and churches that have remarkable leadership may experience upwards of 30 – 40% participation, but only with significant effort and diligent management of resources.

So thus lies the reality check or question:  why do organizations create structures and missions that require 50 - 80% of their people to make it happen?  While great leadership should always push towards 100% involvement and inspire followers to step up to make vision happen, reality must play a part in vision and mission development. This potentially unrealistic leadership vision causes the following negative downward spirals:

1. Burnout – a constant push for more involvement creates a mentality that everyone is over-worked, even though the reality is that most people could do more.  Quickly, those who are stepping up get frustrated that others are not and start experiencing burn out.
2. Lack of Focus – generally, leadership that expects an unrealistic involvement level has an unrealistic expectation that they can become all things for all people.  Leadership generally develops structures that expect 80% of their people to support them, forcing those who are involved to be part of many different tasks and directions.
3. Lack of Quality – supporting a complex structure with too few resources starts to depreciate the quality of programs and events, with a snowball downward effect on quality over time.

Therefore, it is critical that leadership does a reality check around resources and programs.  The sooner the organization can recognize what they are best at doing, and what resources those tasks or direction require, the faster they will stop experiencing the realities mentioned above and start experiencing growth and success.

Good leadership balances creative vision casting with realistic resource expectations.  Great leadership ensures that the structures and initiatives that they set forth always empowers and encourages those who are part of the 20% and appropriately utilizes those resources, while inspiring the remaining 80% to get involved.  Only when additional human resources become imminently available should the mission and vision expand.

For those leaders who are already finding themselves in the middle of the above three downward spiral effects, stepping back and evaluating the number of initiatives, tasks, programs, and events is the first critical step.  Taking all of that information and prioritizing it down to a manageable size to match up against the realistic involvement level of 20 – 40% will then help to get the organization back to a stable status.  Only when leaders come face-to-face with the 80/20 Pareto Principle will they finally encounter the reality of stagnation and identify the true steps towards growth.  And remember, solid Leadership Development Training is key to pushing you over the 80/20 rule and closer to the 60/40 split.